Highway to Heaven
Rev. Brian Bill
Easter 2011
4/24/11
Everywhere we turn there are signs but sometimes they are very confusing…
Some send contradictory messages…
And others are too strict or simply too confining for us…
We’re all on a journey; in fact life itself feels like a highway. One popular song puts it like this: “Every day is a winding road. I get a little bit closer. Every day is a faded sign. I get a little bit closer to feeling fine.” But many of us feel like we’re further and further from our ultimate destination.
Did you know that this year is the 85th Anniversary of Route 66? There are a lot of cool things being planned in our community to commemorate this milestone. I called Ellie Alexander, Pontiac’s Director of Tourism, to get some attendance figures about the Route 66 Museum. In 2010, 13,000 visitors from 53 countries visited the Museum. People journey here from all around the world. Just last week visitors arrived in Pontiac from 19 different countries and 14 states!
I want to suggest that life is like a highway and that we’re all on a journey. If we hope to make it to heaven we’re going to have to follow the right signs.
I can think of three purposes of signs. They give…
· Information
· Guidance
· Warning
According to the “Manual of Traffic Signs” (yes, there’s really a manual), signs must meet five fundamental requirements. They must…
· Fulfill a need
· Demand attention
· Convey a clear, simple meaning
· Command respect from travelers
· Give adequate time for a proper response
God has given us some significant signs to meet our needs, to command our attention, he gives us a clear meaning and these are intended to command respect from us. At the end of this message we’re going to give you adequate time for a proper response.
1. Slippery Road. This first sign shows that the road we’re traveling is actually very treacherous. The Bible says that we’re all sinners… “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It’s very easy for sin to spin us out of control.
While we might want to do what’s right, no one is without sin. If we’re not cutting corners, we’re veering into other lanes.
The Bible traces sin back to the Garden of Eden where God told Adam and Eve to not eat of the fruit of one particular tree. The serpent deceived Eve who ate the fruit and then offered some to Adam.
It was through that deliberate choice that sin entered the world. Theologians call this event “The Fall.” It means that when Adam ate the fruit he fell from a state of innocence into a state of guilt.
What does all this have to do with you and me? In some mysterious way, when Adam sinned, we sinned. Adam was the driver of the bus of humanity and when he drove the bus over the cliff, we went down with him. As a result, we’re separated from God. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” That means that the salary we get from our sin is separation from God. We’re in a mess of trouble. Deuteronomy 32:35 says, that “In due time their foot will slip.”
I can think of two detours that many people take. I’ve tried them both; perhaps you have as well.
· We can try to build our own way to God through a massive construction effort that may last a lifetime. But good works don’t work. Religion itself cannot redeem us. Trying to be moral ultimately doesn’t matter. Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” With the passing of time and the accumulation of guilt and shame, we often just give up.
Another dead end road is when we…
· Bail on God by going the other way (walk away from Him). This doesn’t work either, does it? We look for love in all the wrong places as we search for significance and meander through life desperate for meaning and purpose. Eventually we’ll spin out on the shoulder or crash into a guardrail…or worse.
Where are you today? Are you trying to make a way on your own, or have you gone off the highway to heaven?
If we’re honest we have to admit that we’re running on empty and some of us are running blind.
Whatever direction you take, it’s the wrong way…
2. Jesus is the Only Way.
The next sign reminds us that Jesus is the only highway to heaven and the only roadway to righteousness. Interestingly, the Bible uses the word “sign” to describe the Savior. It’s like there are flashing neon lights throughout the Scriptures that we ignore at our own peril. Here are three passages that come to mind…
· Isaiah 7:14. At Christmas we often hear this verse quoted. Listen for the word “sign” in it: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”
· Luke 2:12. Later the shepherds are given some direction through another sign: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
· Luke 2:34-35. Eight days after His birth an older guy named Simeon predicts that not everyone is going to embrace Jesus. Listen again for the word “sign.” “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many will be revealed…”
Jesus made a rather bold statement in John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the only highway to heaven.
Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus took our place that we might have His peace; He took our sin that we might have His salvation. By dying on the cross, He died in your place, as your substitute, so that your sins can be forgiven. That’s what makes Good Friday “good.”
When Jesus died, a sign was placed on the cross that was understandable in Aramaic, Latin and Greek: “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). Some of you will recognize the letters INRI on crosses even today. It’s an acronym in Latin.
The fact that this sign was written in Aramaic, Greek, and Latin is significant. It shows that He was crucified in a place where many peoples and nations met. It was like a sign on the road that people passed by. What He did on the cross, He did for the whole world! Without realizing it, Pilate wrote a “salvation sign.” This sign is still calling out to each one of us today. Do you see it? Will you submit and surrender to Him as your king?
On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the grave, demonstrating His power over death, and thus paving the highway to heaven. Jesus has bridged the gap between a holy God and sinful people. He indeed is King.
But my guess is that some of you feel like you’re just running against the wind. Maybe you’ve lost your way because there are just so many different roads to choose from.
Are you living to run or just running to live? It’s time to slow down and look at the signs. Some of us are really into signs. We look for them in our horoscope or in the everyday routines of life. When we look at our world today, we can’t help but wonder what kind of signs God is sending in order to get our attention.
In John’s Gospel, he spells out seven different signs that shout out that the Savior has come to make a highway to heaven. According to John 2:11, the purpose of these signs was “to reveal His glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” Here’s the order – God reveals and people respond.
A group of griping religious guys go after Jesus in John 2:18 and demand: “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus, referring to His body that was about to killed and then raised back to life, said this: “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”
The Empty Tomb is the strongest sign yet that Jesus is the only highway to heaven.
And how cool that He rises from the dead in a garden, which should take us back to the first sign up here on the stage – to the first garden where the slippery slope of sin was introduced.
3. The Way is Narrow.
If this Scripture doesn’t make us squirm, I don’t know what will. Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus is using a common teaching method to contrast two decisions and two destinations.
The gate you take determines your fate! Where you wind up later depends on which road you take now because Jesus is the only highway to heaven.
There’s an action that must be taken – we must actually enter through the narrow gate. It’s given in the form of a command which means that we’re to do it now, with a sense of urgency. Don’t just admire the principles of Christianity or try to follow some of its teachings – accept and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
This means that it’s not automatic; it doesn’t just happen by osmosis because you’re an American or because you’ve gone to church your whole life or because you come to a special service on Easter or Christmas.
The highway to heaven is narrow, meaning that it not only takes effort to find it, but it takes determination to enter through it. Jesus made it narrow without checking with us for our ideas of how wide it should be. Actually, the entrance ramp is Jesus Himself as stated in John 10:9: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”
While the narrow gate is exclusive, the wide gate is all-inclusive. The word wide means ample and more than usual. The implication is that it is very popular and very easy to enter: “…and many enter through it.” We might as well admit that the wide gate seems far more inviting than the narrow one.
Let me point out that those who go through the gate of the Lord Jesus Christ will be in the minority: “and only a few find it.” God always has His remnant and it’s normally a small number. 1 Peter 3:20 reminds us that only a few were saved by entering the ark with Noah: “In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved…” And those who go through the wide gate will be many. If you’re considering following Christ, and you want to be popular and live a life of pleasure, you’re standing at the wrong gate. The highway to heaven is narrow, it always has been and it always will be.
4. Our Response: Repent and Receive.
Here’s the deal. You can understand everything I’ve said so far and even agree with it and still be on the highway to Hell. In fact, if you do nothing and just keep traveling through life apart from Christ, that’s where the road of life will take you. That’s our default setting.
Friend, you can’t build your way to God and I sure hope you don’t bail on Him. There is a highway to heaven and the only way to get there is on the road marked “Jesus.” Right now you are standing at a crossroads [turn sign to show cross] and the two “Rs” on this sign represent two biblical words.
· Repent. This word means to turn from the road you’ve been traveling and make a u-turn. It’s a traveling term that describes going in a different direction. Admit you are a sinner and that you’re on a slippery slide. Own the fact that you have blown it. Give up your construction project.
· Receive. Will you believe in Him right now? The word “believe” is an action word – it means to “cling to, to trust in, and rely on.” John 1:12 takes it a step further by saying that we must not only believe; we must receive: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Will you take the “on ramp” and receive Jesus Christ right now?
Romans 10:9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Religion is spelled with two letters: “D-O.” It’s a list of things people think they have to do in order to be accepted by God – go to church, give money, keep the Ten Commandments, be baptized, and pray every day. The list is endless. It’s always Do . . . Do . . . Do. Christianity is spelled with four letters – “D-O-N-E.”
Salvation is not based on what we do but upon what Jesus Christ has already done. If you want to get on the highway to heaven, you don’t have to do anything; you just have trust in what Jesus Christ has already done for you. That’s the whole difference – Do versus Done. Either you try to do it yourself and never make it, or you lay down your hard hat, and your hard heart, and believe that Jesus Christ has already done it for you. And then you receive what He has done by responding to Him.
If God were to ask, “Why should I let you into heaven?” what would your answer be? The only correct answer is that you have jumped on the highway to heaven by repenting of your sins and by receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior, who by his shed blood, paid for all your sins.
The band is going to lead us in a song called, “Glorious Day” right now. This song captures the essence of the story of what the Savior did for us.
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
The whole aim of our service today is to give you an opportunity to connect with Christ. During this past week, PBC people signed up for 245 10-minute time slots to pray for you. You’ve been prayed for and I’m going to ask them to pray like mad right now for you as well. This is a sacred moment for we believe that right now many of you will have your lives radically redirected by the resurrected Christ!
I’d like to lead you in a prayer. If you’re ready to repent and receive what Jesus accomplished on the Cross and get on the highway to heaven, I’d like you to pray a prayer along with me silently. Forget about anyone else right now. It’s time to get on the right road! Don’t promise to try and do better or just work harder and please don’t wait for another time. This is the time right now.
“God, I realize that I’ve been on the wrong road and that I’m a sinner. I’ve not been traveling the highway to heaven but I want to change that right now. I confess that I’m a sinner and I want to make a u-turn and get on the right road. I believe that Jesus died in my place and rose from the dead and I now repent and receive Him as my Savior and Lord for He is the only highway to heaven. I offer you my life. Enable me to stay on the narrow road as I live my life for you.”
In order to seal this moment, I’m going to give you the opportunity to stand if you have made a decision to get on the highway to heaven. This may feel awkward or even embarrassing but I assure you that you will never forget this moment. Here’s how we’re going to do it. I’m going to count to three and when I say, “three,” I’d like you to stand if you have responded to the revelation of the Savior. Ready? One. Two. Three. Go ahead and stand.
If you made a decision to change direction this morning, we have a special gift for you. I’d like you to stop by our “Next Steps” table in the back.
And now I’d like everyone to stand and as you do, let’s join the party in heaven by clapping our hands in recognition that Jesus is the only highway to heaven.
Growth Signs
The Bible refers to believers as those who belong to the way (Acts 9:2). Those who know Jesus as the Way follow His way. That means that we must stay on the right road. Proverbs 15:19 says, “The way of the sluggard is blocked by thorns but the path of the upright is a highway.” And Proverbs 16:17 says, “The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life.”
Let me make a two-point application that relates to growing as a believer. These signs are good for those of you who just decided to get on the highway to heaven and they’re also applicable for those of us who might have hit some pothole problems. Or maybe you’re in the ditch today, or out of gas, or you’ve just lost direction. Let’s face it; we’re all under construction…
Here’s how Christ does his construction work in our lives. If you need help with direction or with making decisions, follow these two signs…
1. Yield to Christ daily. Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God
